For her first bill in the new Congress, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand is trying to create a program to encourage more high-tech manufacturing.

The bill, called the Made in America Act, would provide 10 $20 million awards for regional efforts that boost manufacturing and provide job-training programs for high-tech jobs.

It’s especially pertinent in the Mohawk Valley that has lost 12 percent of its manufacturing jobs between 2004 and 2008.

Creating more jobs and providing manufacturers with the tools to grow are crucial to the state’s success, Gillibrand said.

She announced the legislation at ECR International in East Utica. The company makes boilers, heaters and other HVAC products at its facilities in Utica and Dunkirk.

“Many manufacturers say that their No. 1 issue is access to capital,” Gillibrand said. “With this bill we can see ‘Made in America’ again.”

The awards will create revolving loan funds, job-training programs at local community colleges and provide funding and technical assistance for manufacturers.

The legislation would involve a competition, overseen by the Commerce and Labor departments, that encourages regions to develop ways to spur local manufacturing, especially high-tech and clean-tech manufacturing.

The grants would be handed out with the condition of a one-on-one match and could be used to leverage either local funds or private investment.

The bill has several co-sponsors in the Senate and there is a matching bill, sponsored by U.S. Rep David N. Cicilline, D-R.I., in the House of Representatives.

Ron Passafaro, president and CEO of ECR, said the company has survived for 85 years because unlike some of its competitors it owns its technology, and a boost like this would allow the company to keep that competitive edge.

“This legislation will help us develop and keep our technology for the next 85 years,” he said.

New York is particularly suited for a competition like this because it already has a regional development approach in place, Gillibrand said.

If the legislation passes, it would help manufacturers and colleges play off each other’s strengths, said Matthew Snyder, spokesman for Mohawk Valley Community College.

“For any manufacturer, you need mechanics, you need computer operators, you need masons to build new facilities” he said, “whether it’s one or two large employers or several smaller employers.

Anything that brings more money and jobs to the area would be a good thing, said John Piseck, sales engineer at Custom Tool and Model Corp., in Frankfort.

“We don’t have enough funding, we don’t have enough skilled workers,” he said.